A miracle. It was the only thing Sam could come up with as an explanation as to how he and Dean and Dad had managed to stay in one place long enough to start and finish the last semester of the school year. And it had actually been kinda normal. Well, besides shooting lessons, memorizing Latin verbs, and burning the images of different Devil's Traps into their brains.

They were now taking on the last month of school and they were happy. Something they hadn't been in, well, forever. The little Missouri town of Parkville had somehow wormed it's way into their hearts and, really, they didn't mind. Dean had earned a position on the school baseball team and Sam was a star member of the Mathletes. A fact that Dean had teased Sam about mercilessly but secretly he was happy that Sam was making his own nerdy friends. Finals were coming up, and neither Dean nor Sam were very worried. Both of them were intelligent, if in slightly different ways and what were finals compared to reciting exorcisms?

It was Friday and Sam had just left the small classroom that served as Mathletes headquarters and waved goodbye to his friends as he followed them to the front of the school where they were being picked up. He then turned toward the side of the front building and walked around campus to the baseball field where Dean still practice for the next two hours.

He came upon the open field and settled into the bleachers shaded by the big oak. No one usually noticed him, no one but Dean who was standing on the pitchers mound and caught his eye. Dean smirked and winked at Sam in an annoyingly snarky way. Sam replied by rolling his eyes dramatically but smiled. He understood the silent communication of "Bitch" and "Jerk".

Sam settled into the metal benches as best he could and pulled out some books to study for finals but he knew he wouldn't get very far because, wait for it, SQUEAL. He looked up to the sky, exasperated as the girls on the next set of bleachers giggled and went ultrasonic in their delighted squealing when Dean struck out yet another hitter. Dean flashed a smile at the girls and they passed from ultrasonic into "God I wonder if dogs could even hear that".

Sam flinched away from the attack on his eardrums and he saw Dean look over to him amused. He made a show of being shot in the ear and then an impersonation of the girls on the "popular" bleachers, complete with fainting and everything. Dean became more amused at that and gave a laugh that Sam saw more than heard. And despite his antics, he had to admit his brother was pretty damn good with the baseball. He resigned to his fate of distraction, and leaned back to watch the rest of the practice.

As the guys practiced, Sam let his thoughts wander and they wandered right on to Dean. His eyes locked onto Dean's biceps as he threw a curve ball and appreciated how he could see his back muscles ripple through his blue pinstriped uniform. This isn't weird, Sam thought, nope nuthin' off about that. Wow even in his head he could hear his own unconscious sarcasm. I did not just think that about my brother. Okay maybe I have a tiny, super tiny crush on Dean. But he couldn't blame himself. He's fourteen for God's sake. He would crush on pretty much anything, and just look at Dean. And he then realized he had been looking for quite a long time and then widened his focus onto the whole field. good thing no one paid any attention to him.

After an hour, the girls had lost some interest in the game and had started talking about whatever shit had gone down that week, guys cheating and gossip and so on. The sun had begun to sink into the sky when Dean's practice had finished, the bright blue overhead streaked with pinks and oranges. The rest of the team and their spectators left and Dean called to Sam, "Hey short stuff, get down here!"

Sam laughed and jumped his way down the bleachers and caught the mitt his brother tossed him. They did this sometimes, just stay on the field and play themselves after the rest of the students had left. It gave Sam a warm feeling, with just Dean on the wide open field. He just wasn't at ease among all the jocks and cheerleaders but it felt completely natural with Dean. "Shut up, I just started growing. I'll be taller than you in no time."

"Yeah, keep dreaming but for now you're still a midget."

Sam whacked his mitt on Dean's chest as he passed and Dean gave a playful smack on his butt. Sam shot him a mild bitchface. "Yeah yeah, just get to third."

"Hurry up short stack,"Dean called when Sam just walked away. Sam turned and ran to first base while Dean jogged to third, picking up a stray ball on the way. When they both got into position, they tossed the ball between them for a while and Dean proudly observed Sam's own killer fastball. They spent the time throwing as hard as they could and they each got their own share of laughs as the other let out oof's when a particularly hard toss embedded itself into their mitts. They also picked up a bat a few times and gave a few swings as the sun reached the horizon, laughing at stupid things that they would forget about later or would turn into inside jokes. Like when Dean dropped the ball. It was stupid and hilarious and they started cracking up.

They started walking to their small apartment a few blocks away, shoving and checking each other the whole way. Dean couldn't help but bitch about how Sam's bony shoulder dug into his ribs every time. Dean threw an arm around Sam's shoulder around the last block and they exchanged greetings with a few shop owners they knew. They got to their building and walked up four flights of stairs to their small home.

It wasn't much but Dean was fond of it. The walls were a pastel green and there was a large window overlooking the little streets and their privately owned shops. It had a window seat that could fit both Sam and Dean. At the moment it was just him and Sammy while their Dad was out chasing some monster or other.

Sam walked a little in front of him on their way to their shared bedroom and he took in the sight of Sam's lean figure. Yeah, so what if he kinda liked the way Sam walked, small swing to his hips, or how he liked the way he always pushed his wavy hair out of his eyes, how he was attractive but didn't quite realize it. So what if he kinda liked Sam. He had accepted it a while ago.

As they got close to their shared king sized bed Dean yelled,"Think fast!" and tackled Sam onto their bed.

"How the hell am I supposed to think when you say that after you tackle me?" Sam huffed and blew his bangs out of his eyes, an action that made Dean's heart beat a little faster. Dean just smirked.

"Be prepared then. I strike outta nowhere!" Dean said along with exaggerated karate chop movements. They laughed and Dean climbed off of Sam where he had him pinned him down and they changed into t-shirts and basketball shorts. They went into the small kitchen and microwaved some shitty tray meal which ended up somehow into a water fight with sink water when they tried to wash their hands, flicking water onto each other. Dean scooped Sam up and over his shoulder and Sam retaliated by wiping his still damp hands on the back of Dean's shirt. They heard the microwave ding and Dean didn't bother putting a laughing Sam down, just swatted his butt and grabbed both trays in one hand and carried him to the giant window seat that they preferred over the lumpy couch.

They had pushed the couch to the side, parallel to the kitchen counter and took all of the cushions and pillows and arranged them on the window seat. They also pulled the coffee table closer to the window so they could prop their feet up. They put the TV onto The Men in Black and ate their dinner with the sun behind them. They had stumbled onto a whole movie marathon and left it on as they played poker with a well worn deck of cards they had had since forever and potato chips instead of real chips. Dean won the whole family-sized bag.

"Dude, you so cheated," said Sam in a mock-annoyed voice.

"Ha, I won fair and square, now take the loss like a man."

"That's okay, it's just you here so I can bitch all I want." Dean rolled his eyes and they shared the winnings like they always did. They sat and talked the rest of the evening about girls and...nope that was it, just girls. They sat facing each other and called out names and would assess whether or not they would maybe go out with them. It quickly turned into a bang, date, or miss game. It was a first since they usually never stayed long enough in one place to really get to know the names of too many people.

"Okay, how about Sally Cabott?" Sam suggested. Sally Cabott was a junior and well known for hew supreme basketball skills.

"Ha! I'd have to look straight up to see her chin, all you'd see is some under-boob," Dean replied taking a pull of the beer they were sharing. Dad didn't have much of a problem with Dean or Sam drinking so long as they know their limit and kept the puking to the toilet and the hangover whining to themselves.

"Okay, so she's tall. So? She's nice, and nice looking," Sam shot back, snatching the bottle from Dean and tipping it to his lips.

"I don't think so, little bro. She's got my jawline and more muscle." It was an exaggeration but she did have a squarish jawline and some impressive muscle. Sam felt himself getting more relaxed and less guarded, slipping out of his teenage angsty persona.

"Well I like your jawline," Sam said softly, leaning forward and grazing Dean's stubbly jaw with his knuckles. It was instinctive and didn't consciously act. He expected Dean to pull away at least but Dean just leaned into his touch and kept his gaze.

"Sam," Dean said just as softly. He reached up and held Sam's wrist. Dean took the beer bottle from Sams hand and set it down on the coffee table. Did he hear right? Could Sam possibly share his feelings? He tugged on Sam's wrist until he was straddling Dean's thighs, Dean's arm around his small waist and Sam's hand on his shoulder. Dean leaned in so their foreheads touched, both of their breaths coming out a little faster. Dean leaned in a bit more, slowly, giving Sam all the time he needed to pull away. He stopped with barely half an inch between their lips, silently asking. Sam just tilted his chin up slightly, closing the gap between them.

Dean's hand moved up from his waist to tangle in the soft hair at Sam's nape and released his wrist to wrap it around him and pull Sam closer. Sam did the same around Dean's neck as the sun finally disappeared below the horizon leaving the sky dark with small streaks of colorful light.

Sam broke away to take a breath and looked into Dean's brilliant green eyes. "Dean-is this-do you really want this?"

"Really think I don't?" Dean replied with a small kiss.

"Just had to make sure. And why? Why me? There are people at school that pretty mush look like the cover of a magazine practically throwing themselves at you."

"Cuz none of 'em look like you. And more importantly, none of 'em are as close to me as you. And who else has the nerve to bitch at me?" Dean smiled at Sam's breathtaking grin and dimples.

They stayed in the window seat for the night. Dean slept on his back, almost able to completely lay flat, just having to bend his knees a little. Sam lay half on top of him, his head resting on top of Dean's heart, his right leg between Dean's, and their fingers tangled on the other side of Dean's chest. They woke early as the sun came up, light shining through the window.

"Mornin'" Sam said sleepily. He looked up at Dean and smiled. Dean smiled right on back.

"Hey there Sleeping Beauty,"Dean smirked. Sam replied by thumping his head back onto Dean's chest. They watched the sunrise with contentment. "Alright, this is nice and all but I'm hungry." Sam snorted and got up off Dean. When they stood, Sam stood up on his tiptoes as Dean leaned down and they kissed like it was the most natural thing in the world. When they were moving around so much, they only had each other so it was no surprise that they had grown close enough for their relationship to evolve to such a level.

They moved on to the kitchen and Sam stretched his back on the way, reaching up and taking the bottom of his shirt with him. Dean couldn't refuse such a sweet invitation and stepped closer to wrap his arms around Sam's waist and nuzzle his neck. Sam smiled because he knew that it was a sleepy Dean that did all this adorable stuff. When he woke up properly, he would return to his macho self. And Sam liked both kinds of Dean.

They fixed up some cereal and returned to the window seat to eat and watch a rerun of a Friends episode. They finished and Sam leaned into Dean and Dean put his arm around Sam's shoulders.

The intercom buzzed around noon. Sam got up and spoke into the small microphone,"Please don't do that again, it's a horrible sound."

Their dad's voice came back grainy but with a hint of laughter,"Hey boys, buzz me in, I lost my key." Sam buzzed him in and turned around.

"Sounds like the hunt went well," he said to Dean.

"Yeah, I think he met up with Bobby and a few other buddies,"Dean said as John walked into the room.

"Hey, dad. Did the hunt go well?" Sam asked.

"Oh yeah, the son of a bitch turned out to be Shifter. And one with a bad sense of humor. Impersonated Bobby while he was right there. And it was a pretty good impersonation too," John laughed. "You boys doin' good here?"They nodded. "Good, because I caught wind of a possible spirit case a few towns over. She'll be appearing in a few days. Okay with staying here?" He knew their answer but asked anyway. They nodded again with the usual "yessir" and he smiled because it was the longest he had been able to give them "normal". "Okay I'm gonna go and sleep, I'm burnt out."

"Night-I mean afternoon dad," Sam said. John smiled again.

"Afternoon, Sam."

Dean looked out the window and could see his and Sam's reflection as well as the view beyond it. He smiled at the whole world of possibilities that had come along with the new development yesterday. When the latch on John's bedroom door clicked shut, Sam scooted closer to Dean and leaned up for a brief kiss. Dean smiled and looked out the window again. Yeah there was a lot that could happen.